Kay Vess, lovable scoundrel and star of Ubisoft’s upcoming motion journey sport Star Wars Outlaws, has a knowledge spike shoved by way of her ponytail like a quantity 2 pencil. Alongside Kay always is her cute companion Nix, a Merqaal that may assist her snag hard-to-reach objects or distract enemies by operating in entrance of them and taking part in useless. When repelling down ledges with Kay’s grappling hook, he’ll hop on her again and peer down with pleasure whereas panting. On crime-hub planet Mirogana, neon indicators inject vibrant pops of shade into darkish, seedy alleyways, droids prepare dinner unusual meals at little stalls, and residents take pleasure in some back-alley playing. As Kay walks by way of this bustling world, a Mon Calamari asks for some credit to feed his playing downside.
All through my practically hour-long time with Outlaws, there’s a lot beautiful Star Wars texture like this that I steadily catch myself simply observing issues somewhat than taking part in. However there’s lots of taking part in to do right here—Outlaws is a third-person open-world sport that options gunplay, stealth mechanics, dogfights in house, platforming, and extra. My hands-on demo was on rails and I used to be nonetheless considerably astounded by how a lot Ubisoft and Huge Leisure have packed into this sport.
Enjoying the scoundrel
I used to be capable of play three missions throughout my Star Wars Outlaws hands-on, every of which had a 20-minute timer. One required Kay to flee an Imperial ship and dogfight some TIE fighters, one other noticed her platforming her approach round a derelict Excessive Republic ship, and the ultimate one tasked her with infiltrating a Crimson Daybreak base on snow-covered planet Kijimi. Ubisoft was sensible to provide us these little slices, as every one showcased all of the instruments and methods Kay has in her arsenal.
Learn Extra: 14 Cool Particulars We Noticed In Star Wars Outlaws’ New Gameplay Trailer
The Imperial ship stage leaned into utilizing Nix as a distraction, which requires you to carry down the left bumper in your controller to convey up some instructions you may situation the little man. He can assault enemies, distract them, or work together with objects. Distracting enemies is a bit simplistic—Nix will fall over useless in entrance of them in order that Kay can sneak behind them and knock them out, however not one of the different enemies ever observed the our bodies I used to be abandoning as I snuck round. I additionally needed to do a little bit of hacking on this stage, which takes the type of a Wordle-like minigame during which you try to guess which three symbols will crack the code. Guessing the unsuitable one offers you a giant crimson X, the best one within the unsuitable spot will go yellow, and the right one glows blue.
The Excessive Republic stage was all about platforming, which seems like a mixture of the Star Wars Jedi video games and Murderer’s Creed. Kay scrambles up yellow painted grates (sure, yellow paint is on this sport), instances her jumps to keep away from getting her fingers caught in vents which can be opening and shutting, and may use her grappling hook to latch onto sure issues and swing to faraway platforms. I struggled with the platforming at sure factors, partially as a result of I’m dangerous at platforming but in addition partially as a result of Kay can really feel a bit unwieldy throughout these segments, and this mechanic does appear to be a bit too reliant on Tomb Raider-esque vibes and Uncharted-style gags (platforms fall out from below Kay rather a lot).
The third mission is all about stealth, which is one other factor I’m very dangerous at. You may actually solely duck behind cowl and crouch-walk round with the intention to stay hidden, or duck into an occasional vent if you are able to do so with out getting caught (I couldn’t). Nix can solely distract one particular person at a time, and within the Crimson Daybreak base there have been fairly just a few baddies patrolling about. Luckily, as quickly as I’m noticed, a shoot-out ensues, and people are very enjoyable.
Kay wields a blaster that may swap between deadly and EMP rounds, the latter of which works nice for droids, shields, and powering up useless batteries. She even has a one-shot knockout spherical that’s on an extended cooldown, and a Crimson Lifeless Redemption-style final potential that slows down time and allows you to mark as much as three enemies to take out with ease. The gunplay is fairly tight and satisfying, however don’t count on a lot Division-style cowl—Kay can duck behind issues and dodge roll, however Outlaws feels extra such as you’ll both be avoiding fight or going right into a room weapons blazing.
A totally Star Wars world
Although the gameplay was very structured and certain received’t signify the ultimate, open-world product, I used to be capable of get an incredible style of Outlaws’ model of the Star Wars galaxy— and I used to be very impressed by the vibes Ubisoft has curated. Kay Vess is a incredible character, voiced with a barely scummy, plucky perfection by Humberly González. Nix is cute and animated, and feels at instances like a secondary protagonist due to how typically he will get concerned, how reactive he’s, and the way a lot Kay chats with him. He’s BD-1 with enamel, and I might die for him.
The aspect characters all really feel like they stepped off a film set, and attending to delve into the seedy prison underworld we solely get tastes of in issues like Solo is a devilish delight. Deciding who Kay will align with will have an effect on her status with totally different factions, a mechanic which was onerous to get a really feel for throughout my hands-on, however looks like a wise technique to enable gamers to roleplay their model of a Star Wars scoundrel. Everybody loves Han Solo, however what would you do for those who had been in his boots?
Outlaws’ aesthetic is fantastically retrofuturistic. It feels such as you’re taking part in by way of an unreleased ‘70s Star Wars movie, from Kay’s shaggy haircut to the retro menu design and the tactility of the gameplay. Each time Kay plucks her knowledge spike from her hair to unlock a door, you’ll have to finish slightly rhythm minigame by pulling the set off in time with a flashing mild, your controller vibrating with every pulse. It feels such as you’re truly cracking the lock your self, excessive reward for a lockpicking mechanic contemplating how they’ll typically really feel like throwaway options.
And although I used to be slightly bummed that lots of the world I encountered felt prefer it was behind a show case (I desperately needed to order a drink at a bar, or sit down at a random desk and play sabacc, somewhat than simply lean on a railing through a considerably sticky animation), these are stunning digital areas which can be steeped in Star Wars lore and vibes. And I’m certain as soon as Ubisoft launches Star Wars Outlaws and we’re free to roam these areas with out restrictions, I’ll be much more excited for what Kay’s journey has to supply.
Star Wars Outlaws launches August 30 for PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, and PC.
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